Brook Lopez dominates, but insists it was just another game

LOS ANGELES — Brook Lopez can declare Friday was simply one other recreation. However the sight of him going to the ground for a unfastened ball, the picture of him grappling with two defenders concurrently, the image of him contesting shot after shot advised the actual story.

After Lopez had needed to spend his whole profession as a one-group participant, to start out and end with the Nets, they traded him this offseason. And he made them pay Friday, with a masterful 34-level, 10-rebound, three block domination.

“When you’ve got the expertise degree that Brook has and also you’ve been within the league lengthy sufficient, you possibly can anticipate a participant of that degree having an enormous recreation towards his previous staff. It’s simply the best way the league works,” Lakers coach Luke Walton stated. “A few of these 3s I used to be yelling at my coaches ‘Why is he capturing that!?’ And he’d make them.”

Such was Lopez’s night time, going 6-for-9 from deep.

“Typical. I felt snug on the market. It was one other recreation to me,” Lopez stated. “Truthfully it wasn’t [extra special] in any respect.”Proper.

Overlook the strains he spewed from the Crash Davis Faculty of Clichés. This was not simply one other recreation.

“He was nice, hitting 3s and we went small and he took us down within the publish and made some performs,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson stated. “He performed an awesome recreation,”

Rookie Kyle Kuzma, who was taken with the twenty seventh general decide that the Nets despatched to the Lakers with Lopez, had 21 factors on eight-of-eleven capturing.

So, does basic supervisor Sean Marks have a case of vendor’s regret?

“No,” Marks informed The Publish earlier. “The decide was a part of the deal. Who is aware of who would’ve drafted Kyle? Kudos to the Lakers for that.

However on the finish of the day that wasn’t ever a think about our [mind]. Our deal was it’s the best time to go get that expertise and attempt to develop D’Angelo. And put Brook right into a state of affairs the place the Lakers needed him, so it’s nearly as good state of affairs for him too.”